The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1364176
➤ Chargers track win 11 events against Vikings ➤ Williams pitches 3-0 shutout at home ➤ Relays, Wiseman take fi rst in middle school tri-meet Chargers track win 11 events against Vikings Relays, Wiseman take fi rst in middle school tri-meet Relays, Wiseman take fi rst in middle school tri-meet Lady Chargers tennis gets dramatic win Sports headlines B-1 Wednesday, april 21, 2021 PIKE PUBLISHING VOlUMe 151, nUMBer 16 NEWS TIPS Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Email ����� editor@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local ����������������� A1-8 Obituaries ��������������� A7 Sports �����������������B1-5 East Gibson������������B6 Church �������������� C1-3 Opinion ������������� C4-5 Classifieds �����������C6-7 Legals ��������������������� C8 Home Life ������������D1-6 History �������������������D3 School ��������������D4-5 USPS 604-34012 $1.00 28 paGes FOUr seCTiOns Three inserTs peTersBUrG, in 47567-0068 By Andy Heuring The Petersburg City Council approved $23,000 and $ 9,600 change orders on their water line relocation project, and discussed increasing parking fines and increasing the fire district tax rate during their Monday night meeting. The council voted 5 -0 to approve two change orders for the water line relocation project. The first change calls for a six-inch water line to be used instead of a four-inch water line at a cost of $ 9,600 to cross Highway 61 at the intersection of Cedar St. toward 10th St. Mayor R.C. Klipsch said the change was re- quested to improve fire protection in the area. Fire Chief Ross Elmore said there is a hy- drant in the area of Ninth and Cedar Sts., that is a three-way hydrant, but with a four-inch line to it. Consequently, the pressure isn't enough to be effective. He said the six-inch line would give much better pressure and fire protection in a three-block area around that hydrant. The second change calls for a continuous bore of 1,600 linear feet of 8 -inch line. The original plans called for the line to be put in a trench, with numerous short bores. Each of the short bores would need a bore pit dug. They also learned that 11 utility poles would need to be moved. Klipsch said it was determined it was more cost effective to do one continuous bore. The increase to the original plan cost is $23,000, of which 90 percent is reimbursable, making Petersburg's cost $2,300. ORDINANCE PASSED TO INCREASE FIRE DISTRICT TAX RATE They also discussed raising the tax rate for the Petersburg/Washington Township Fire District from 0.284 to 0.333. Klipsch said he recently noticed the tax rate had dropped from its original rate of 0.333 when it was created on March 23, 2011. Klipsch said since 2011, the tax rate had dropped to 0.284. He told the council because of this, the fire district was missing out on about $13,000 a year. They had a public hear- ing on the issue and no one from the public City approves water line changes, increases fire tax rate Beauty and the Beast opens Friday at Pike Central Alaina McClellan (LeFou) center, leads a song about what a something Gaston is. She is surrounded by townspeople L.J. Deffendoll, Avery Smith and Silly Girl Avery Hunt. Pike Central will be performing the Disney classic "Beauty and the Beast" under the direction of Melissa Traylor this week- end in the Vance Hays Auditorium. Shows are 7 p.m. Friday, April 23, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 24, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 25. Tickets can be purchased from any cast member or by calling 812-354-8478. See more photos on page 3. See 40 UNDER 40 on page 2 See SCHOOL on page 8 See COUNCIL on page 8 Pike County mailed out the prop- erty tax bills, which are due on May 10 and November 10. County Treasurer Susan Wheel- er Brittain said if you do not re- ceive your property tax bill within a couple of weeks, you should call the Treasurer's office at 812-354- 6363. The bills were mailed out on April 14. She said her office will be open until 5 p.m. on April 30, May 7 and May 10, as well as on Saturdays, May 1 and 8, from 8 a.m. to noon. She reminded people to use the Ninth St. door entrance when enter- ing the courthouse. Also included with this year's tax statements will be information from the Recorder's Office about their property fraud alert program. It is a free service to warn property owners about suspicious online ac- tivity regarding their property re- cords. More information is available by visiting www.propertyfraudalert. comand selecting Pike County, In- diana. First property tax installment due May 10 Ashley Willis wins Economic Development 40 Under 40 Award Ashley Polen Willis, Executive Di- rector of the Pike County Economic Development Corporation, has been announced as a recipient of the 2021 Economic Development 40 Under 40 Award. The biennial award recognizing rising stars under 40 years old in the economic development industry. The awards program is hosted by Development Counsellors Interna- tional (DCI), a New York-based in- tegrated marketing firm that works with economic development and Jor- genson Consulting. An independent selection com- mittee of six economic development professionals and site selection con- sultants evaluated a record-number of 200 -plus nominees."This past year has demonstrated the impor- tance of economic development in building and sustaining resilient communities," said Julie Curtin, president of DCI's economic devel- Jeep crashes on south I-69 on ramp A Francisco man was arrested early Sunday morning after he crashed a Jeep on the south on-ramp of I-69 from Highway 61. It was one of two recent OVWI arrests in Pike County. See story on page A-2 . By Andy Heuring Pike County's School Board opened bids and approved contracts on three different proj- ects at their meeting last Tuesday night. They opened logging bids and computer equipment bids, and granted a construction contract on improvements to the Petersburg Elementary School. In a special meeting, the school corpora- tion opened bids on March 31 to make chang- es to the entrance of Petersburg Elementary School and the nurse's office. There were six companies that submitted bids: They were: Danco Construction, Inc. $239,400 ; Empire Contractors, Inc. $258,995; KM Construction Services, LLC $274,000 ; Seufert Construction and Services $292,930 ; Arc Construction $292,345; and Kremp Con- struction $ 354,000. Gary Fischer, with Lancer+Beebe, LLC ar- chitecture firm, recommended the board ac- cept the Danco's bid, which was the lowest bid. The board voted 5 -0 to approve their rec- ommendation. The council also opened bids for logging the woods behind the school's baseball and softball fields. The bids submitted were: Andis Logging $58,300 ; Kepps Logging $78,367; Odon Saw- mill $ 66,324.98; Werner Specialty $78,194; and Werner Sawmill $51,626. A bid by Billy Joe Like was withdrawn by Like. "Basically, this is what they are going to pay us? " asked board member Chris McKinney. "I think they are all good bids, they are beating the minimum bid," said Pike Coun- ty School Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Blake. McKinney asked what route they were go- ing to be using to transport the trees off the property and if they were going stockpile it on the school grounds during the project. He was told they were going to stockpile it near County Road 50 N. Blake said, according to the contract, they had until November 2022 to complete the proj- ect. The consultant recommended going with the highest bid, which was Knepps Logging. It was approved by a 5 -0 vote. Another purchase approved was for 30 new computers and monitors for the engineering class. Corporation Technology Coordinator Phil Clauss got bids from four firms for 30 new computers that meet the Project Lead The Way recommended specifications. Those bids were: Bytespeed $1,195 per machine for Bytespeed Value H410 Intel Core i7 10700 pro- cessor with a 5 -year warranty; Shi $1,199 per machine for a Dell Precision 3420 Intel core i7 10700 processor, with a 3-year warranty; All Covered $1,220 per machine for a Lenovo Thinkstation P330 Intel Core i7 9070 proces- sor, with a 3-year warranty; Bytespeed $1,165 per machine Bytespeed Value B550MAMD Ryzen Pro 7 4750 processor, with a 5 -year war- ranty. Phil Clauss recommenced going with the Bytespeed bid for their H410M with the Intel Core i7 10700 processor and 5 -year warranty. "We prefer it over the other Bytespeed be- cause it has an Intel processor and the AMD School board approves contracts on new projects